5 Ways Mike Pompeo Is Different From Rex Tillerson

Although the White House has not officially announced it, according to administration officials, President Donald Trump is currently considering ousting the Secretary of State, Rex W. Tillerson, and replacing him with C.I.A Director Mike Pompeo.

Rumors of the replacement have been going on for quite some time as relations between the secretary and the president soured. The transition is thought to take place over the next several weeks after Trump signs off on the plan developed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, the New York Times reported.

Tillerson and Pompeo could not be more different when it comes to their relationship with Trump and their political views:

Relationship with the president

According to reports as well as his profile, Pompeo is closer to Trump in temperament than Tillerson ever was. After becoming the Secretary of State, Tillerson has struggled to dial down the tweet bombs that the president has been unleashing in the name of foreign policy.

From trying to explain if Trump’s threat of "fire and fury" against North Korea meant a formal declaration of war by the United States to assuring NATO allies that the U.S. was not pulling out of the intercontinental treaty after the president’s complaints against the U.K. and other members of the organization, the state department has had its plate full.

The latest example of Trump and Tillerson not being on the same page came earlier this month when both commented on Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on corruption, leading to the arrest of 11 Saudi princes and dozens of government ministers. While the president clearly took a side, Tillerson took a mildly more critical stance, Business Insider reported.

"I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing," Trump tweeted while on a his foreign trip to Asia. Tillerson, on the other hand said: "How they choose to deal with it at this point is still a bit unclear. But I wouldn't want to read more than what we know at this point and what the foreign minister shared with me."

Pompeo delivers the president his daily intelligence briefing in person almost every day, hence has reportedly established a more personal relationship with him. He is likely to avoid friction between his department and the oval office that risks creating distance between him and the president.

Iran nuclear deal

Pompeo’s views regarding the Iran nuclear deal rings true with his boss. Trump has called it "an embarrassment to the U.S." in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, in September, the Hill reported.

According to Haaretz, in 2015, when the Iran deal was the talk of the town, Pompeo said that the deal "won't stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb and places Israel at more risk." He further added the "theory that post-sanctions Iran will moderate is a joke — they want to annihilate Israel, now buying Russian missiles."

After Trump’s comment on the global platform, it was reported that Tillerson tried to get the president to certify to Congress that Iran was in "technical compliance" with the deal, despite the accord not having stopped the threat posed by Tehran.

Views on Russia

Although the relationship between the two has soured in the recent times, Tillerson was known to enjoy a close friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin till last year. The former ExxonMobil C.E.O. was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship in 2013 after Tillerson’s company announced a $500 billion deal in 2012 to develop Russia’s oil reserves in the Arctic and the Black Sea, Vanity Fair reported.

Pompeo, on the other hand, has always had the sternest of views when it comes to Russia. In his confirmation hearing for the director of CIA, Pompeo called Russia a major threat to the United States. He further added that the Kremlin "has reasserted itself aggressively, invading and occupying Ukraine, threatening Europe, and doing nearly nothing to aid in the destruction and defeat of ISIS."

Paris climate deal

When Pompeo was a congressman for a Kansas district from 2010-17, he called the 2015 Paris accord a "costly burden" to the U.S. "Congress must also do all in our power to fight against this damaging climate change proposal and pursue policies that support American energy, create new jobs, and power our economy," he said in a statement at the time, Climate Change News reported.

Pompeo’s view differed quite a bit from Tillerson’s, who was hopeful that Trump would not pull out of the climate deal in September. Tillerson said on CBS' "Face The Nation" at the time, that Trump was willing to work with the members in the Paris agreement to construct a set of terms that are fair and balanced for the people of the U.S.

"The president said he is open to finding those conditions where we can remain engaged with others on what we all agree is still a challenging issue," Tillerson said, Reuters reported.

Abortion and Planned Parenthood

Tillerson is a well-known pro-abortion Republican whose company, ExxonMobil, has donated multiple times to Planned Parenthood. In a statement to the Daily Signal, ExxonMobil defended its funding of an organization that performs more than 300,000 abortions per year.

"ExxonMobil funding for Planned Parenthood organizations have been made through our employee/retiree matching gift and volunteer programs, which exist to support our employees and retirees in their personal philanthropic giving and community involvement," the statement read.

Pompeo, on the other hand, has called Planned Parenthood the "largest commercial provider of abortions in the United States" and has voted to defund it. He is pro-life to the point where he has refused to support abortions even if the conceived child is the result of rape. "I believe that that child — however conceived — is a life and I want very much for that life to continue to exist," Pompeo said, CJ Online reported.